GFCF Apple Pie Bars

These are so good.  They are a little labor intensive but they are so worth it.  They are kind of like an apple pie in a pan - so much easier to take to a pot luck than a pie and you can cut yourself a smaller piece if you like. 

Gluten and Casein Free Apple Pie Bars

In a small bowl:
Beat 1 egg yolk (save the white – it will be used later)
Add ½ cup vanilla almond milk and mix well.

In a medium bowl:
Combine:
2 ¾ cup gluten free flour mix
½ teaspoon xanthan gum (omit if using a flour mix that already contains it)
1 teaspoon sea salt
Cut in 1 cup of your preferred butter substitute – I used earth balance spread.

When mixture looks like coarse crumbs, stir in egg/milk mixture and mix until it forms a ball.  
Divide dough in half.  

For filling:
Chop up 6 cups of apples. 
In a small bowl:
Combine 1 cup sugar (you know I prefer raw organic but any sugar will work) with  6 teaspoons minute tapioca, 1 ½ teaspoons cinnamon and ½ teaspoon nutmeg. 
Pour over apples and mix.

easpoon nutmeg. 
Pour over apples and mix.up so the filling sticks up sugar (you know I prefer raw organic but any sugar will
Roll one half out between two layers of plastic wrap (wet the counter before putting down the first piece of plastic wrap so it sticks to the counter and doesn’t move while you are rolling.  Roll out to fit in the bottom of a 9 by 13 inch baking pan. 

Pull top layer of plastic wrap off dough and invert into pan.  Cut and trim so dough perfectly covers the bottom and doesn’t go up the sides.

Pour apple filling over bottom layer of dough.

Roll out the rest of the dough between two pieces of plastic wrap to fit on the top of the apples – it will be slightly larger than the first sheet was.  Pull top layer of plastic wrap off and invert over the top.  Trim to fit perfectly on top.

In another small bowl, combine 2 tablespoons sugar with ½ teaspoon cinnamon. 

Beat reserved egg white with a fork until foamy.  Brush over the top crust (you probably won’t use all of the egg white – just make sure you have covered the entire top crust).th a fork until foamy.  Brush over the top crust (you probably wo'im to fit perf  Sprinkle sugar/cinnamon mixture over top crust.

Bake at 350 degrees for about one hour (check after 45 minutes) or until nicely browned and you see juices bubbling. 

Note – this dough can be hard to handle – rolling it between plastic wrap makes the dough easier to handle and easier to move to the baking dish.   Using dairy substitutes may give you differenn egg/milk mixture and mix until it forms a ball.  If